Date:         Sun, 14 Aug 2005 10:39:03 EDT
Reply-To:     Trvlr2001@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Carpenter <Trvlr2001@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Kill Switches: Question: Does Defense attract Offence ???
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Hi All,
.

But In the end, What's (IN) the bus is often worth more than  the bus itself.
As when you are a thousand miles from home with all of your  belongings in
your bus.
What's a poor boy to do ??? (short of sleeping in your bus  with a sawed
off?) In fact, in Portland Or, while sleeping IN my bus (I even had  the top up!)
An enterprising young man tried to break into my bus while I was  Sleeping ???
Not a nice feeling to Only have the thin canvas of the top,  'the' only thing
between you & the bad guy. (All I had was an axe in my hand  Eugene :o)... go
figure...
I now carry an 40 cal auto. But I really hate to be in that  space !!! It
makes me feel more like one of them, than one  of...me...
Question: Does Defense attract Offence ???
John C...

FWIW  some of the fancy cars I sometimes used to see at my old job had
switches  underneath the floor carpet up where it's easy to reach that had
to  be
actively held down in order to start the car. It was a push button  on  switch
like a doorbell in that it was on "engaged" when  actively  depressed.

I assume they were just a kill switch for the  starter. And I know it  had to
be actively held down for the starter  to run--this of course in  combination
with turning the ignition key.  The driver knew "exactly" where the  carpet
had
to be pushed and  assumably no one else could easily find it--til the  carpet
wore out  in that spot ;)

(In a sports car set up remember the reach to the floor  carpeted area is
pretty close because you're sitting low unlike in the  Vanagon.)

I'm not so sure this is the best set up, but I'm just passing  it  on . Seems
if the thieves jumped the starter or even better jump  started  the car ---you
know by rolling and popping the clutch--they'd  be on their  way.

And so a kill switch for the fuel pump or the  ignition system or what have
you may be more effective BUT and it's a big  but, what happens the night you
forget to flip the kill switch as you get  out of the bus to go to sleep.

The kill switch for the fuel pump is  only as good as the last time you exit
the vehicle. And the most painful  part of getting your bus stolen would be
endlessly wondering if you forgot  to flip the switch when you got out or if
the
thief found it--or worse your  wife told them where it was when she hired
them.

I wonder if it'd be  over kill to have a started kill that had to be  actively
depressed to  allow the starter to turn over AND a kill switch for the   fuel
pump.

Incidentally I've had kill switches on cars and it does  give you peace of
mind, and I think appropriately  so.